Mother May I
by protejerinnocencia
Summary: Patty Halliwell has just met Victor Bennett and she's pretty sure it's true love.  All she has to do is get past her mother.
1. The Boy in the School Yard

The Boy in the School Yard

I sat in math class, staring out at the window. I was bored by trigonometry. Math was never my best subject. So today I was staring out the window, shielded by my math book. It was gorgeous out today. I longed to just freeze the room and slip outside to enjoy the fresh air. But that wasn't allowed. I couldn't use my power on mortals. Mom would have a fit. Ever since Dad died she was always hounding me about protecting my magic. Just as I was about to turn back around to try and listen to what the teacher was saying, I caught a guy leaning on the fence beyond the teacher's lot. He seemed to be looking right at me. I suddenly felt a poke in my shoulder. I turned around to see Shane leaning forward.

"Did you do the homework?" he whispered.

"Some of it," I answered in a hushed tone.

I looked up to see the teacher glaring at us and I shrunk a little I my seat. I couldn't afford to get in trouble right now. The year was almost over and I would be graduating soon. Luckily the bell rang and we all rushed into the hallway. I caught up with my friend Marie and we headed outside for lunch.

"I cannot wait until this year is over. I'll never have to take math again," Marie sighed as we sat down on a picnic bench.

"Well…don't some colleges make you take math?" I asked.

"I'll find somewhere that doesn't," she laughed and bit into an apple. We sat in amicable silence, chatting between bites when she gasped a little.

"What?" I asked, raising a brow.

"There's a guy over there and he keeps staring at you," she said, leaning in closely. I peeked over my shoulder to see the guy from before still leaning against the fence. I waved a little and he waved back.

"Do you know him?" Marie asked me.

"No. I have no idea who he is," I answered. But he was cute.

"Should I invite him over?" I whispered. We erupted into a fit of giggles. It was just a guy. Why was I so giddy over him? I didn't even know him. After we both calmed down, I took a deep breath and got up. I slowly made my way over to where the guy was standing.

"Hi," I said, leaning on my side of the fence.

"Hi," he replied.

"I uh…saw you staring earlier," I murmured.

"Yeah…sorry. Just can't help looking a pretty thing like you," he complimented. I could feel color rushing to my cheeks.

"I'm Patty. Patty Halliwell," I said, extending my hand.

"Victor Bennett," he replied and she shook hands over the chain links.

"Do you want to come sit over with my friend and I?" I offered.

"Sure…maybe for a little while. I don't want to get kicked off school grounds though. Their stupid rule about no graduates on the grounds during school days," he muttered. I laughed. It was a pretty stupid rule, I had to admit.

I backed up and he climbed over the fence. As inconspicuously as we could, we returned to the lunch table.

"Marie, this is Victor," I introduced.


	2. Seems Like Forever

Seems Like Forever

I said goodbye to Victor as Marie and I headed back in for the rest of school. He seemed really nice, and he was extremely cute. I looked over my shoulder one more time to see him wave goodbye to me.

"He likes you," Marie announced a little more loudly than I would have liked.

"Yeah…but I mean I don't even know him," I said as we headed to chemistry.

"So get to know him. It couldn't hurt," Marie said as we took our seats. I bit my tongue. I knew how much it could hurt. It seemed like he'd been watching me for a while. For all I knew he could be a warlock trying to steal my powers and kill me. But I couldn't think like that. That was my mother's mentality.

I managed to make it through the rest of the day and soon found myself heading towards the student lot with Marie. We were halfway to her car when I hear someone calling out my name. We both stopped and I spun around. Victor was walking towards us.

"Hi," I greeted, smiling shyly.

"Hey Patty. I was wondering if I could walk you home. If that's ok with you," he asked. I shot Marie a look. She shook her head a little.

"Um…maybe a little ways," I replied. He seemed to accept that answer. Thankfully Marie lived just up the block from me so she would be following us.

"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier," he said as we began to walk. Marie followed at a safe distance.

"Don't worry. You didn't," I told him. I was still a little edgy. Ever since Dad died, I knew I had to be careful about who I trusted.

"So…you live on Prescott Street huh?" he commented as we reached a crosswalk.

"Yeah. My family has lived there for a few generations now. Since my grandparents at least," I answered.

"That's cool," he murmured. I got the sense he was nervous.

"Is everything ok?" I finally asked, stopping after we'd crossed the street.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I just…not sure what to ask you. I feel like I've known you for years. It sounds crazy, I know," Victor rambled. I laughed a little. Ok now he was starting to creep me out a little.

"That came out wrong," he apologized.

"I've just been trying to find a way to talk to you for a while that's all," he rephrased.

"Oh," I said, spotting a bench on the sidewalk. I sad down and he joined me.

"Maybe we should start over?" I suggested and he nodded. He extended his hand to me and I shook it. In that moment I really wished I had the power of premonition.

"I'm Victor. I'm one of three kids. I'm the oldest," he said politely.

"Brothers or sisters?" I asked with a smile.

"One of each," he answered.

"I'm an only child. Sometimes I wish my parents would have had more kids," I sighed. But I knew that Mom had her reasons. She'd been a real hippy back in the day.

'Don't. You probably have lots of privacy and your own space," Victor interrupted me. I tried to stifle a laugh. The demon attacks weren't exactly privacy inducing.

"You could say that. But I bet with brothers and sister, you had people to play with when you were little," I countered.

"You do have a point," he said with a nod.

"So I guess we both have some perks," I giggled.

"Yeah…so what do your parents do?" he asked. I paled. I couldn't really tell him that my mom was a demon kicking witch.

"Uh…well my mom works from home and my Dad…died a few months ago," I admitted.

"I'm so sorry," he said, pulling me into a very unexpected hug. I didn't pull always. Warlocks didn't show compassion. Besides, if he was a warlock he would have probably tried to kill me already.

"Yeah…it was kind of sudden," I sniffled. I knew I couldn't tell him that a warlock had murdered my father.

"Well if you ever want to talk, I'm here," he whispered. I knew in that moment that he was definitely not a warlock or demon. He was just a mortal and a really nice guy.

"Thanks," I said, and slowly pulled away.

"It's hard sometimes but we're making it ok. We try to remember the happy times," I added.

"Yeah…that's usually the best way to grieve," he agreed with a nod.

"Come on, it's starting to get late. I don't want your mom to get mad at you for being late," he said and we stood up. Marie must have seen us talking and headed home because I didn't see her car anywhere.

We started in the direction of the Manor again. We walked in silence but it wasn't a bad silence. It was one of those silences where you don't have to say anything because you know what the other person was thinking. Of course it wasn't really true because I don't have the power of telepathy and he didn't know I was a witch. But it shouldn't matter. Dad was a mortal too. We got to the last cross street before the Manor and we stopped.

"I think I can make it from here," I said with a sheepish grin. I was a bit scared of Mom seeing me with a guy; given her recent distaste for them.

"You sure?" he asked and I nodded. We were about to part ways when he stopped me.

"Do you have a pen and piece of paper?" he questioned abruptly. I eyed him curiously but pulled the desired items from my bag, handing them over.

He looked around him and finally settled for the low wall running along the front edge of the property next to us. He scribbled something on the paper and handed it to me.

"My phone number and address. In case you want to talk or come over some time," he explained.

'Well you know my address. But here's my phone number," I said, tearing off a small part of the paper and writing my number down.

"Don't call too late though. My Mom is really anal about stuff like that," I said as I gave it to him.

"Yeah…I don't want to get your Mom mad," he agreed. I looked down at the ground. It seemed so strange to have already exchanged phone numbers with a guy I had just met. But I could tell there was something special about Victor Bennett.

"Well I'll call you sometime," I said, starting to walk the final distance to the Manor.

"I'll be waiting," he called after me.

I got to the front steps and turned to see him walking in the opposite direction. I looked down at my watch and realized I was really late coming home. Mom probably thought I'd been kidnapped by a demon. I took the steps two at a time but stopped short when I got to the door. I knew she would be mad about me being late but would she be mad about me meeting a guy too? Maybe I could sneak upstairs before she noticed I was home. She didn't have the power of premonition either. Slowly I pushed the door open as silently as I could and shut it quickly behind me.

I tried not to breathe as I moved towards the stairs. I managed to get halfway up before I stepped on a really noisy step. I tried to hurry up the rest of them but Mom was there in about two seconds flat.

"Patricia Halliwell. You get down here right now," she ordered. I winced. She was pissed.

"I'm sorry I'm so late, Mom. I just got caught up talking to someone," I lied. Well ok it wasn't a complete lie. I had been talking to someone.

"I thought a demon had gotten you," she said firmly.

"I'm sorry Mom. No demons came after me. I swear," I said, coming down to the bottom of the steps.

"I just worry about you, Patty," she said.

"I know you do, Mom," I replied.

"So who were you talking to?" she inquired. I knew that was coming. I looked away. How I wished I could freeze her for just a minute so I could gather my thoughts. But good witches don't freeze.

"Patricia," she said sternly. I hated it when she called me that. It always made me feel like I was a little kid again, hand caught in the cookie jar as it were.

"No one in particular really. Just a friend," I said in a roundabout fashion. It shouldn't be this hard to tell her I'd met a guy.

"Do I know this friend?" she demanded. She knew something was up.

"It was a guy, ok. I met this guy," I said. I waited for her to speak. I could see the unhappiness welling up behind her eyes.


	3. A Word in Edgewise

A Word in Edgewise

'A boy," was all she managed to get out. I inched away from her.

"Yes, Mom. I met a guy. It's not against the law," I snapped. Just because she now hated men didn't mean I had to.

"How do you know he wasn't a demon?" Mom spat. I knew that question was coming. I had of course considered it earlier.

"He's not. He's a mortal. Believe me. I would have kicked his butt if he even so much as shimmered his little toe," I promised her.

""Patricia, you know how dangerous it is to trust strangers…especially men," she grumbled.

"I'm not you, Mom," I shouted. This was ridiculous. How could she expect me to distrust everyone just because her best friend happened to be a warlock?

"Don't take that tone with me," Mom snapped.

"Look can't you just be happy for me? Don't you want me to be happy?" I asked, standing up abruptly. I turned and stormed up the stairs not even giving her a chance to respond. I slammed the door to my room shut and tossed myself on the bed.

"She's so unreasonable," I grumbled to myself as I sat there staring at the ceiling. I know she didn't mean to be that way. I know it was just her talking that way because of how hard she took Dad's death. But did she really have to take it out on me? I heard footsteps on the stairs and I held my breath. I didn't want to talk about this with her…not right now. As quietly as I could I climbed off the bed, scribbled a note to Mom and started to open the window.

"Patty, can we please talk?" I heard Mom call through the locked door. I hoped she wouldn't try and open it.

"No," I shouted as I cautiously climbed out the window. I'd never really done this before. I closed my eyes and reached for a tree branch and miraculously caught one before falling. As quickly as I could I shimmied down the tree and took off up the street at a sprint. I could hear her shouting my name. She was fast that woman. Once I was sure I was far enough away I pulled out the piece of paper with Victor's phone number and address. It didn't seem to be too far but I wanted to make sure I could get there before Mom found me. I clutched the piece of paper and chanted softly under my breath.

"Take me here, let none give chase. Get me safely to this place," I said. It wasn't the best spell in the world but it would have to do. I opened my eyes and looked around. The house number looked right. I made my way up the front stairs and knocked on the door. A girl opened it who appeared be about ten or eleven.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Uh…is Victor here?" I asked, toying with the piece of paper in my hand. She turned and shouted over her shoulder.

"Victor! Some girl is here," she bellowed. At least my spell had worked. I waited outside as footsteps pounded down stairs and Victor appeared.

"Hey," he greeted, looking really surprised to see me.

"Hi…" I mumbled. He pulled the door shut and we sat down on the swing on the front porch.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Not really, no. My Mom and I had a fight…about you," I admitted. I almost wanted to laugh it sounded so absurd.

"I'm sorry," he said, placing a hand on my knee. I smiled a little at him. In my head I was trying to calculate how long it would take Mom to get here.

"She can't stop me from dating. I mean yeah she can try but she won't really stop me," I said after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't want to get your Mom mad at me," he sighed just as we both heard screeching tires.

"And that would be my Mom," I sighed. He raised a brow at me.

"I sort of left a note with your address before I left. Mom jumped out f the car, looking really angry.

"Patricia, don't you ever do that again," she screamed. Please don't send him flying I thought silently.

"I told you were I was going," I muttered.

"Ma'am, I just want to say…" Victor began but Mom cut him off.

"I'm not interested in what you have to say," she snapped.

"Would you just hear him out?" I spat. Mom sighed but looked at Victor.

"I just wanted to say that I respect your decision as her mother, but if you would let me, I'd very much like to get to know your daughter," he said politely. Mom looked at me.

"Well when you put it that way…fine," she said, looking rather shocked.

"Thanks Mom," I said and gave her a hug.

**One Year and Four Months Later**

I was setting the table for Victor to come over for dinner. It had been almost a year and a half since we'd met. I'd graduated from high school gotten into a local college. Mom had seemed to accept Victor. She still didn't like the fact that he was mortal but I kept reminding her that Dad was mortal too.

"What time is getting here?" she asked as I finished setting the table.

"Five," I muttered.

"That's twenty minutes!" Mom exclaimed.

"Calm down. Everything is ready," I sighed.

"You're right. Why am I the one worrying. It's not my boyfriend coming to dinner," she muttered.

"Demons are going to attack," I said to try and allay her worries. Of course I shouldn't have said anything. At that moment and very ugly looking demon shimmered into the dining room.

"Oh give me a break," Mom groaned, sending it flying. It went tumbling towards the table and I shot a hand out. He froze midair.

"Couldn't you have sent him the other direction," I snapped. With another flick of my wrist he burst into flame and disintegrated to nothing. Not two seconds later the doorbell rang. I rushed down the hall and yanked it open.

"Hey, I know I'm a little early," he said, sounding like he was trying to apologize.

"Oh don't be silly, come in," I said. He stepped over the threshold and I shut the door. Some ten minutes later we were sitting at the table, enjoying dinner.

"I made it. Do you like it?" I asked, blushing a little.

"It's amazing," he said, patting my hand. I go the feeling he was hiding something from me.

I caught Victor looking at Mom. She seemed to nod at him and he turned his chair to face me straight on. I looked at Mom but she didn't say a word.

"There's something I was hoping I could ask you," he said, clearing his throat a little in between words.

"Are you ok?" I asked, pushing the pitcher of ice tea towards him.

"I'm fine," he assured me as he started up his speech again.

"So I was hoping to ask you something," he repeated.

"Ok…sure," I said with a nod. He took a deep breath and shoved one of his hands into his pants pocket. I got a feeling I knew what he was going to ask me but I didn't want to jump the gun.

"Patty…would you do me the honor of marrying me?" he asked, presenting me with a simple diamond engagement ring.

I couldn't speak. I just looked at the ring and then at Victor and back to the ring. I must have been making some sort of noise because Mom was by my side, rubbing my back. It finally registered why they'd been sharing strange looks all through dinner.

"Did…you know?" I asked of Mom in a raspy whisper.

"He was polite enough to ask me to grant him permission," she said. I flung my arms around her. I was definitely proud of my Mom that she was able to accept Victor into the family. I had totally forgotten about Victor sitting across from me, hand still extending the ring box.

"Oh…of course I'll marry you," I added, allowing him to place the ring on my finger. He leaned over and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. I smiled widely as I gazed at the winking stone. After allowing me to stare at the ring for a few minutes more, Mom pulled me away, collecting dishes as she went.

"Don't tell me I have to dishes with my new ring on," I complained. Mom started the water running and plopped the dishes into the sink.

"Have you told him you're a witch?' she asked. I hadn't been expecting that.

"Uh…no," I answered.

"You might want to do that. Don't want to scare the boy," she said. I let out a little laugh.

"Thanks Mom," I said, still chuckling as I went back to join my fiancé.


End file.
